As one of control apparatuses for vehicles such as automobiles, there has been known, for example, an integrated vehicle motion control apparatus that executes plural types of vehicle motion controls in a vehicle through an integral control of plural actuators by a computer on the basis of driving-related information relating to driving of a vehicle by a driver, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2003-191774 filed by the applicant of the present invention. This apparatus includes a host command section and sub-command section, wherein the host command section outputs an instruction to the sub-command section, and the sub-command section controls plural actuators on the basis of the instruction.
In the aforesaid conventional vehicle integrated control apparatus, when an abnormality occurs in the host command section, its influence is exerted on the sub-command sections. Therefore, the conventional vehicle integrated control apparatus has a problem in view of reliability. Further, it also entails a problem that, since information relating to plural types of vehicle motion controls and information necessary for the adjustment between sub-command sections should be inputted to the host command section, the amount of sending and receiving information between the host command section and the sub-command sections increases.